Do you carry a knife?

[darrin terry]

I like the ease of carrying a folder on a daily basis. For a true "survival" type knife, I would generally go with a blade length of 4-6 inches and a minimum thickness of 1/8-inch. I'd never knowingly go into a situation where my life may depend on my knife and choose a hollow handled knife. I've both seen them break and had them break on me too many times to ever trust one. One possible exception is the Cold Steel Bushman knnife. It's made from a single piece of steel and the handle is rolled into shape as opposed to being bolted or welded in place.

I prefer for a survival situation that the blade be a tool steel which will hold an edge better/longer than any stainless steel. They tend to be a bit harder to sharpen, but you'll sharpen them less often. I also carry a set of ceramic sharpening stones made by Spyderco with me at all times and a larger set is in my camp gear. A leather strop made from an old belt or strip from an old backpack is always avvailable as well.

[Papasequoia]

On sale right now at Steep and Cheap and lasting for 20 minutes more (although they sometimes repeat if they don't sell out) $64.99 marked down 57% from 149.95

SOG Knives Visionary 1 Knife

It doesn’t take a soothsayer or fortune teller to see that the SOG Visionary 1 Knife is a useful addition to the gear of a scout, hunter, fisherman, camper, or urban jungler. The thin design and sharp blade create a compact yet effective knife and the ambidextrous locking mechanism and quick-action opening works smoothly for right- or left-handed users.

* Arc-Lock mechanism offers quick and safe one-handed opening and is extremely strong for secure hold when blade is open
* Zytel handle features finely textured grooves and forefinger notch for stable grip in wet or humid conditions
* Ridges on top of blade near handle offer slip-free thumb grip for more cutting power and single-handed closure
* Reversible clip allows both right- and left-handed users to have quick-grab and easy-open benefit
* Slightly curved, drop-point blade provides razor-sharp cutting

[Bernard]

I like the ease of carrying a folder on a daily basis. ....

I recently couldn't find my fave "light" model Buck folding blade for a recent trek so in haste, I bought a borderline toy Browning lock blade with a pathetic 2" blade. It worked fine for my minimal purposes such as cutting light cord, cleaning small fish and getting the dirt out from under my nails. There is no question that other types and sizes might be better for other situations but it did save substantially on bulk and weight. It was fun to keep handy (shirt pocket) without being a burden. My 2 cents...
B

[RSetina]

Thanks folks.....all great knives you have.

I was focused more on a fixed blade and wanted something that would withstand punishment if I ever needed it to.

Yesterday I ended up having the wife bring me home the Cold Steel Master Hunter (non gut).

http://www.coldsteel.com/masterhunter.html

I definitely like the way it feels. Really solid. Full tang with 3/16" wide blade. Looks like it will withstand some puishment if need be. And at a good price


Rob

Now that's what I was thinking of. A knife you can use as an axe in emergencies. I usually carry a swiss army knife but like Ray was saying, a knife with some backbone could come in handy should the need arise.

[darrin terry]

I have seen a few pics of the Cold Steel knives (larger models - but I can't recall which model(s)) with blades broken at the hilt. In each case it was being used to baton though firewood vertically along the grain. I do not recall whether it was wood with lots of knots or not, but each situation was in cold, snowy conditions. Very cold weather will certainly have an effect on steel, in some cases rendering it more brittle than standard conditions would. Still, under most conditions their knives have been excellent buys for me.

All that means to me is that I wont use my Cold Steel ODA for such work. It is not really designed for that anyway. I do have others which would serve that purpose better. Plus I have a Gerber 14-inch hatchet and a Gerber 24-inch axe. Both are literally shaving sharp. I know because I honed them to that point myself.

Here's a pic of a broken one:
http://media.photobucket.com/image/brok ... con720.jpg

I believe this was this first broken one I'd seen pics of. I think I saw it when checking out this guys youtube uploads. He reviews a lot of knives and such. If anyone is interested, look for nutnfancy on youtube.

[Eric]

After Rob started this post I started looking online and ended picking this up from Cheaper then dirt.
Gerber Gator Machete Jr. and Saw Rubber Grip handle Nylon Sheath. now I just need to some up with a good
sharping stone
Eric

[darrin terry]

Carried a Buck 119 for years, put this knife through *. I really abused it and accept for the scratches on the blade and sheath it's in perfect working order. The only reason I don't carry it today is because I need to fix the belt loop and I don't know anyone that works with leather…

Just so you know, if you are unable to fix or get fixed the belt loop, you get a brand new leather Buck sheath for that online for about $10. Mine came with the cordura sheath, which I don't like so much. I replaced it with the Buck leather sheath immediately after buying the knife.

[FishingHiker]

Carried a Buck 119 for years, put this knife through *. I really abused it and accept for the scratches on the blade and sheath it's in perfect working order. The only reason I don't carry it today is because I need to fix the belt loop and I don't know anyone that works with leather…

Just so you know, if you are unable to fix or get fixed the belt loop, you get a brand new leather Buck sheath for that online for about $10. Mine came with the cordura sheath, which I don't like so much. I replaced it with the Buck leather sheath immediately after buying the knife.

I have the older 119 with the old style sheath. It's pretty much retired. I have a KA-BAR that I carry now, a gift from an old friend who's a lifer. I carry it one because it's a gift from a friend and two because it's a reminder that there are people out there risking there lives to protect my freedom. Aside from the cool factor I use my 3" folder and my SOG multi-tool 98% of the time.

[rkfiske]

Sorry to resurrect a semi dead thread but I had a question for many of the much more experienced knife users out there. I've been looking at some Bark River Knife & Tool offerings and wanted to know if you guys have heard any good things about them?

[darrin terry]

Ryan, I don't own one, um, yet, but have heard/read only very good things about them. Without having owned one I would have to go with the reviews I've read and or watched.

Here's one I've eyed:

I cannot recall anything bad in terms of reviews so far.

Which one are you considering?

By the way, the Enzo Trapper I bought was D2 steel, not O1 as I said before. Oops.

[rkfiske]

Darrin, I've been considering the BRKT North Star, this one in particular:
http://www.knivesshipfree.com/Bark-River-Knives-2009-North-Star-Knife-Maroon-Linen-w.-Mosaic-Pins

I am, however, also looking for a much cheaper and reliable alternative whose length does not exceed perhaps 9" or so So any info you got would be quite helpful.

[darrin terry]

Nice. I like the jimping on the back of the blade. Deep grooves for good purchase with the thumb. Looks like a great blade. I wish it was offered with more handle options, but it certainly looks to be a great blade.

[rkfiske]

The website has quite a varied selection of handles though it seems difficult to find them for sale anywhere. That knife is also very nice. The enzo trapper is cool but I don't think they sell it as a complete knife. I'm not ready to take up another hobby

[darrin terry]

Actually, I bought the Enzo as a complete knife.

Here are a couple pics. I bought the sheath shown as an additional sheath so that I could have the firesteel on the knife sheath. I added the black dangler loop myself by removing the leather snap loop from a Maglite belt holder and cutting off the plastic flashlight hoop. I then fastened the leather snap loop to my sheath using paracord.





EDIT: I just checked Bensbackwoods.com and while they still list the Enzo knives as completed, built knives, they are all listed as out of stock. Might contact them to see what's up. Maybe it's no longer available, maybe it's just being built per order or something.

[rkfiske]

Nice pics darrin! Yeah I found bens backwoods actually then discovered them also out of stock.